On Tuesday, March 5, the boys varsity water polo team played and lost their home opener against the York Dukes, falling 19-1 to their Elmhurst competition.
Coming off a 12-9 overtime win on the road against the Hersey Huskies, the team readied themselves for their first home game of the season. From the start, it was guaranteed to be a huge challenge. The Dukes had advanced all the way to the state semifinal the previous season, finishing fourth in the state. Furthermore, they were a team that had earned sectional championship appearances every season since 2016.
York won the swim-off, the race to get first possession of the ball, and earned their first goal courtesy of junior Tim Jensen (4). The Dukes scored multiple goals over the course of the first quarter, despite several saves by junior and goalie Tristan Backhus (1). By the time the first quarter came to a close, the visiting team held a 7-0 lead.
“I liked that the team didn’t give up and that we were supportive of one another through a hard defeat,” senior Seif Kotb (7) said. “I also liked that we were supportive from the bench and that in the pool, although it was frustrating, we tried to help out one another and look for the open player. I think it’s important that we leave earlier so that we’re not on the counterattack and when we have the ball we don’t panic.”
With York’s defense stopping multiple advances and shots from the home team, the Dukes grew their lead throughout the rest of the first half. Backhus remained in the goal and made multiple saves throughout the second quarter.
Backhus, in his second season on varsity, scored with seconds left in the third quarter, getting the ball halfway across the pool before launching a successful shot to get the Wildcats on the board. The goal ended York’s bid for a shutout and boosted morale for the home team.
Backhus said that his goal “was a pretty proud moment. We just [have] to work on setting up, passing the ball down the field.”
The game ended in a 19-1 loss for the Wildcats, moving their record to 1-1 for the season. Despite the loss, Kotb, a captain, said that he hopes to win “as many games as possible and create a good team spirit. Personally, I’d like to have a great season and score a lot of goals while staying active on defense.”
The team’s next game will be when they play in their tournament at Buffalo Grove High School on Friday, March 8. The next home game will be Tuesday, March 12, against the Fremd Vikings from Palatine.